Athletics to place Denzel Clarke on IL indefinitely with right adductor strain

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3 days ago

Athletics to place Denzel Clarke on IL indefinitely with right adductor strain originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Athletics rookie outfielder Denzel Clarke is headed to the IL for the foreseeable future with a Grade 2 right adductor strain, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters Monday before the Green and Gold's game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Clarke, who broke his own record with a fourth consecutive Electric Play of the Week nod on June 23, tightened up while scoring on a Nick Kurtz RBI double in the eighth inning of the A's 8-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday at Progressive Field.
'He had an MRI done here [in Arlington] today,' Kotsay said. 'He's got a Grade 2 [strain]. I'm going to spell it A-D-D — adductor — strain. You know, really unfortunate timing for Denzel. I think his confidence offensively was continuing to build; the at-bats were just getting better and better. This timing is very … crappy, I guess.
'It's going to be a couple of weeks, probably. I hate to give a timeline from that standpoint. He's on his way back to start his rehab. … We'll announce a move tomorrow [Tuesday]. Obviously, with where we're at in the situation, we won't be able to get anybody here.'
Clarke, a defensive highlight reel with a plus-12 outs above average, was finding his groove offensively before his injury. He was hitting .333 over his last 12 games with 14 hits and six doubles after holding a .189 average through his first 35 outings.
'Loved the aggression I was seeing with him swinging more,' Kotsay said. 'Again, the more at-bats we can get this kid, the quicker the development process was going to happen.
'Had this injury not taken place and he had finished the season, I was confident we could've gotten him close to 300 at-bats. And that would've been great to begin next year with. [We're] just hoping he could get back with us at some point this year and finish out the season.'
Kotsay said that the A's 'probably' will rotate players throughout center field and reiterated that Clarke's offensive promise and defensive prowess will be missed for the time being.